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It was the morning of the tournament and Naruto was feeling up to the challenge. His fight was first and so he needed to get up extra early to make sure his team was ready to go.
He had analysed Chouji's team after room service had delivered his breakfast and his pokemon were rather bulky but slow. Luckily, his team had piles of pace to their advantage even if they were fragile in comparison.
Naruto had finished dressing for the day and was about to call Jiraiya when he heard a knock on his door.
"Just a second!" shouted Naruto and he opened the door. Fū was standing on the other side, much to his surprise. It was only after a few seconds that he realised he had forgotten to speak to Fū yesterday. The remaining trainers had gone out to an arcade and Naruto had lost track of both the time and Fū.
"Hey, Fū. Come on in," said Naruto and he closed the door behind him as she took a seat on the back of the couch. Naruto leaned back against the door as he waited for Fū to speak.
"Sorry about yesterday, " said Naruto sounding a bit embarrassed, "I kinda got distracted and roped into a lot of games by Kiba and Yugito. I tried to look for you after, but I couldn't find you."
"I left early," said Fū her tone somewhat clipped before it eased up instantly, "Look, it's not like you're in trouble or anything. What are your plans for after the tournament?"
"My plans?" said Naruto with a hint of confusion, "Well, I was planning to stay a few days after the tournament. Then, I'd head out to Chinora Town to challenge their gym. They're a part of the Minor League. I don't think I'm quite ready to take on the Major League. "
Gyms were ranked just like Trainers. Some were D-rank and a few were S-rank like Kakashi and Rin's gym in Horomoto City. The one in Minora was a C-Rank gym and they were a Ground-type gym which gave him quite the advantage with his current team.
"I want to come with you."
"To Chinora Town?" asked Naruto drawing a shake of the head from Fū.
"On your journey actually, " clarified Fū, "You and Kiba are a nice change from the usual, but there's a bit more to it than that."
"You," said Fū pointing to Naruto, "Beat an extremely strong Scyther by punching it through a dozen trees. Before that, you picked me up and ran faster than I thought possible. Finally, I saw you save Kiba from falling over the cliff. You halted his momentum with one arm. That's not normal."
Naruto was about to protest when Fū held up her hand, "I believe you when you say you don't know why, but it's really gotten my attention. There's no way I could leave without helping you figure this thing out."
In all honesty, Naruto tried to put the feats he had achieved out of his mind at all times. He knew something was wrong and he knew it had to do with the Gengar in the forest. However, Fū was right. He needed to figure this thing out and he'd probably go crazy trying to keep this from everyone.
"I'd love it if you came with me, Fū," said Naruto which seemed to embarrass the girl a bit, "I don't think I can go back to travelling alone and you're way better company than Kiba."
The last part was said in jest and it served its purpose as the awkwardness that had bubbled up between them began to fade. Between Naruto spending time Chouji and the others as well as training there were times he'd not see Fū for days on end.
"I also want to get to the bottom of whatever happened to me," said Naruto once they stopped laughing, "I don't know how or why, but this happened for a reason. Whatever that reason is we'll find out together. "
Naruto held his hand out in a fist and he smiled when Fū responded by bumping her own fist to his.
"To finding out whatever the hell is going on," said Naruto before adding, "And to getting badges and stuff. We can't forget that."
And that was it. They had about an hour to get to the stadium and Naruto had a sneaking feeling Kiba was completely knocked out and would remain so unless he got woken up by someone.
"Now if you'll excuse me," said Naruto as he made his way back to the door, "I need to wake Kiba up. I think he's still asleep and as funny as it would be I don't want him to miss the tournament. "
"I already woke him up," said Fū, "He fell asleep on the floor, but he should be ready soon."
Great minds think alike clearly. Naruto had a feeling travelling with Fū was going to be pretty cool. It kinda sucked that he didn't have pictures of Kiba on the floor.
"I figured you'd enjoy some pictures of him on the floor so I took some with my dex."
Scratch that. Naruto was sure his journey was going to be awesome now.
"Viewers all around Sanka," boomed Anko's voice over the speakers. The woman was acting in her role as announcer and proctor.
"The next round of the Konoha Rookie Tournament is about to begin! The first match of the day will be Chouji Akimichi from Konoha versus Naruto Uzumaki from Saisho Town! "
Naruto took in a deep breath as he watched Chouji from across the field. The energy from the crowd ran through his veins and he was almost twitching in excitement. His excitement only increased as a picture of a coin appeared on all of the screens.
"A virtual coin toss will decide who starts," said Anko, "Heads is for Naruto and tails for Chouji. Let's see who will get us underway."
The coin flipped a number of times before it finally landed on heads. Naruto reached for his waist before releasing Apollo. The pokemon seemed surprised by the energy in the crowd before lapping it all up as he began to bounce back and forth.
"Naruto has decided to start with Treecko!" said Anko, "Who will Chouji decide to send out?"
Chouji seemed to stare at Apollo intently before finally settling on who to send out. He enlarged his pokeball before releasing his first pokemon.
"Let's go Niku!"
Niku turned out to be a yellow rotund pokemon that seemed rather eager to begin. It wasn't very tall, but it had a very stout frame.
"Chouji's first pokemon is Makuhita!" said Anko, "Match 17: Naruto Uzumaki vs Chouji Akimichi, begin!"
"Quick Attack!" shouted Naruto and Apollo charged towards Niku in a streak of white light. Apollo smashed into Niku before springing away from the stout Fighting-type.
"Niku, use Arm Thrust!"
Niku charged after Apollo his hands glowing a bright red. Naruto waited for Niku to close in before he gave his next order.
"Double Team! Don't let him find you!"
Apollo waited until Niku was in close before a multitude of copies of Apollo appeared from thin air. Niku seemed confused for a split second before he began to swing Arm Thrust after Arm Thrust through the copies.
The copies didn't make it easy though as they all bobbed and weaved in a tight circle around Niku. It was something Naruto had noticed. Apollo had something of an affinity for Double Team and his copies were able to perform independent actions from each other.
This didn't bode well for Niku who tired out rather quickly leaving a sizable number of clones left. The glow of Arm Thrust faded from his arms and they hung simply at his sides.
"Mega Drain!"
Green tendrils shot from one of the copies of Apollo before wrapping around Niku who struggled valiantly, but fruitlessly against the technique. Niku's struggling wanted in energy before he stopped entirely clearly unconscious.
"Makuhita us unable to battle!" announced Anko, "Treecko wins!"
Chouji recalled Niku and after a few words he sent out his next pokemon – a Sandshrew. It was a Ground-type and it was clear that Chouji had been backed into a corner.
"Rollout!"
Sandshrew curled into a ball before rushing after Apollo. Sandshrew was getting faster and faster so Naruto knew they had to act quick.
"Get out of there, Apollo! Don't let Sandshrew touch you!"
Apollo nodded before he blurred away in a streak of light. A second later, Sandshrew rolled over where Apollo had just been and so began a game of keep away as Sandshrew was gaining speed and power behind its Rollout.
Apollo was able to keep just ahead of Sandshrew for about two minutes and while there were near misses, nothing ever came from them. Naruto was patient until it finally happened.
Sandshrew unfurled from its Rollout and it was clear straight away that it was feeling extremely dizzy. Chouji had made the mistake of keeping Rollout active for too long. It grew gradually stronger as it went on, but inevitably a pokemon would have to stop to regain its bearings.
Apollo had kept just ahead of Sandshrew which baited Chouji and Sandshrew into thinking Sandshrew could catch Treecko. They had been overzealous and would now pay the price.
"Mega Drain!"
This time, Sandshrew was knocked out even quicker than Niku. Grass-type moves were super effective on Ground-types and Sandshrew had no chance once it got caught in Mega Drain.
Naruto knew Chouji's last pokemon was a Squirtle and that battle would probably play out similarly to the last two battles. This didn't deter Chouji who let out his Squirtle and immediately called out an attack.
"Rapid Spin!"
"Double Team!"
Squirtle went slicing through copy after copy before finally smashing into Apollo. Naruto grit his teeth as he watched Apollo sail through the air before landing.
Squirtle's shell would protect it from damage so they had to use moves that had real physical power behind them instead of simply strength. Luckily, they had just the thing.
"Super Pound!"
Apollo shot off in a Quick Attack towards Squirtle. The Water-type was standing its ground even as Apollo closed in. Naruto paid it no heed as Apollo whirled around on one foot to deliver a juiced-up Pound with its tail.
"Ice Punch!"
Naruto realised too late that he had been baited and now it was a showdown between Squirtle's Ice Punch and Apollo's Pound. Naruto had no need to worry though. In a move reminiscent of his fight against Mizuki's Machop, Apollo jumped straight over the Ice Punch.
Squirtle's fist was embedded into the ground which left him wide open for Apollo's attack. Apollo's tail pulsed with energy before it cracked against the back of Squirtle's head.
There was a collective groan from the audience before Squirtle dropped forwards completely knocked out and with a large bump on the back of his head.
"The winner of this match and moving onto the next round is Naruto from Saisho Town!"
Naruto and Chouji both walked to the centre of the field where they shook hands.
"Great fight, Naruto," said Chouji, "I'm going to have to work harder to beat you in future. I want my rematch soon enough!"
"Sure thing, Chouji!" said Naruto before bowing to the crowd. Apollo made a show of mimicking his actions before hopping up onto his shoulders.
Naruto made his way to the top and he gave a respectful nod to Sekka. He decided to stop by the bathroom and by the time he was back Shino's battle with Sekka was well underway.
"Come on, Shino!" shouted Kiba over the balcony, "Finish him already!"
"How's Shino doing?" said Naruto and he received a grim shake of the head from Kiba.
"His back is against the wall. Just watch."
Immediately, Naruto could see the problem. Shino's Bulbasaur was in a tough battle against Sekka's Sizzlipede. The Grass-type was covered in burns and seemed to be on its last legs.
"Flame Wheel!" shouted Sekka and his pokemon obeyed as it barrelled towards Bulbasaur in a wheel of fire. Bulbasaur seemed to be too exhausted to react until Shino gave his last order.
"Poisonpowder."
A cloud of purple smoke was expelled from Bulbasaur and Naruto was surprised when he heard the slow and dry voice of Shikamaru speak up.
"Shino's a genius."
A second later, Sizzlipede rode into the cloud and immediately there was a massive explosion as the Poisonpowder ignited. There was a flash of green within the explosion before Sizzlipede flew backwards.
Once it slowed to a stop it was clear that it was knocked out. The audience waited with bated breath as the fire and smoke faded from around Bulbasaur, but it morphed into cheers when they saw the Bulbasaur enveloped in a green barrier.
The cheers didn't last though as the barrier made by Protect faded away before Bulbasaur collapsed in a heap. Both trainers recalled their pokemon as Anko's announced the result.
"Both pokemon are unable to battle! Now, who are they going to send out next?"
"Poisonpowder isn't usually combustible, right?" said Naruto receiving a shake of the head from Shikamaru.
"It can be," said the boy, "Different pokemon can produce different poisons. That Sizzlipede was tough as hell. Shino sacrificed his Bulbasaur because his team is very weak to fire. That Protect took most of the sting out of the explosion, though. If that Sizzlipede had stayed out it would have been over."
Naruto accepted the rather surprising insight from the lethargic boy before turning his eyes back to the battle. Sekka had released an Oshawott and in line with Shikamaru's words Shino let out a Turtwig.
"Curse," said Shino and a purple mist wafted off Turtwig.
"You've got this, Oshawott!" shouted Sekka, "Aqua Jet then Fury Cutter."
Oshawott shot towards Turtwig in Aqua Jet and smashed into the Grass-type releasing a cry of effort. Turtwig was moved back a few feet before the Aqua Jet was stopped cold.
"Crunch."
Before Oshawott could even disengage from Aqua Jet, Turtwig had already struck. Its jaws clamped around the neck of Oshawott's neck very tightly
Turtwig shook Oshawott around viciously before dropping it to the ground. There were drips of blood around Turtwig's who was still completely fresh. Sekka, however, seemed freaked out by the attack. It only seemed to worsen once he saw the state of his Oshawott.
"Brutal," said Kiba and Naruto could only nod, "It was stupid of that guy to make his pokemon charge in like that. Curse buffed Turtwig's offence and defence."
In the meanwhile, Sekka had run to his Oshawott and after recalling him he turned to Shino, "You monster! Why'd you have to go that far?"
Their conversation was being broadcast over the mics all trainers wore on the arena and Shino's clipped response made Sekka seethe with anger.
"You only have yourself to blame. Why you might ask? Turtwig was empowered by Curse and you still attacked headfirst. This is your fault. A trainer has to take responsibility for allowing their partners to get hurt. "
"Shut up!" growled Sekka as he glared up at Shino, "You know what? I quit. You can have your precious victory. "
The crowd was far more subdued at this course of events and there was only weak applause as Anko announced Shino as the winner. The awkward air lasted until the next two battlers were announced.
"Can Fū and Hinata Hyūga make their way to the field?"
"Good luck, Fū," said Naruto as he walked up to the girl, "I wanna meet you in the semis. Don't let me down!"
"Good luck to you too, Hinata!" shouted Naruto to the girl almost out the door, "Kick Fū's ass!"
Hinata seemed embarrassed by Naruto's encouragement, but she nodded hesitantly before scrambling out the door. Yugito took this as an opportunity to come near Naruto and Kiba.
"So are you cheering for both sides?" her voice was half-amused and half-sardonic, "Isn't that confusing?"
"Nah," said Naruto flippantly, "Fū will win. You saw in their battles. Hinata needs some more confidence. She's good, but she's also her biggest hurdle."
Naruto expected Fū to beat Hinata. The Konohan was just too reserved and shy to beat an effective battler. If anything, the crowd could make things worse for Hinata.
That was without taking into account Fū's talent for battling.
The girls arrived at the bottom and Fū was chosen to begin the battle. They both had a handle on each other's style with one of their pokemon so it wasn't much of a surprise that both started out with different pokemon than their double battles.
Fu had chosen to start with Buneary who was looking ready to rumble and Hinata had started with a Fennekin. The battle began and Fū and Buneary (whose nickname Naruto forgot right now) kicked things off.
"Dizzy Punch!"
Buneary's ears glowed a multitude of colours as it rapidly closed down on Fennekin. Hinata only hesitated for a second before giving her order.
"Psybeam!"
Buneary was forced to abandon her attack as a pink ray was shot at her from Fennekin's mouth. Buneary was forced into an acrobatic display of flips and twirls as Fennekin tried to snipe it.
Fu seemed to grow tired of the game as she gave her next order, "Agility!"
Buneary seemed to shimmer for a few seconds before her speed increased dramatically. Fennekin wasn't able to keep up with Buneary's increased speed and as a result, Buneary was able to close in for an attack.
"Dizzy Punch! Don't let up!"
Fennekin was slammed around by Buneary's relentless attacks which finally ended when Buneary used her ears in something reminiscent of a hammer blow to finish her assault off.
Dust was kicked up from the strength behind the blow and it wasn't a surprise to anyone when Fennekin was revealed to be battered, bruised and most of all unconscious.
Hinata recalled Fennekin and she stared at the pokeball for a few seconds before putting it away and calling out her next pokemon – Mienfoo.
"Mien-chan, use Swift!"
Buneary's added speed from Agility had faded and now she was forced to scramble to avoid Swift. It was futile, however, as the attacked homed in on her no matter what she did.
Once one star smashed into her the rest followed and Buneary was reeling from the attack. Mienfoo was deep into a fighting stance as she waited for her next order.
"Quick Attack," said Fū and Buneary charged towards Mienfoo ready to get some revenge, "Then use Dizzy Punch!"
"Detect!"
Mienfoo crisply avoided Buneary's Quick Attack before she followed up by staying out of reach of Buneary's Dizzy Punches. Buneary seemed to grow gradually frustrated and her attacks grew increasingly sloppy which Hinata saw immediately.
"Force Palm!"
Mienfoo's hands were drawn back before they struck out in a double palm-strike. The Double Force Palm sent Buneary tumbling head over heels before she collapsed into a heap at Fū's feet.
Fū wasted no time in recalling Buneary before she let out Naka. The Chimchar was raring to go, but even then she waved at Mienfoo having recognised the other pokemon.
Mienfoo waved back before the battle was on.
"Force Palm!"
"Fire Punch!"
Both of Naka's fists were enveloped in flames while faint, red energy wafted off of Mienfoo's hands. Naka lashed out with her left fist, but it was stopped cold by Mienfoo's right palm. The same happened with Naka's right and soon the two were locked in a stalemate.
Hinata was the first to give a follow-up order, "Vital Throw!"
Mienfoo shifted her grip to Naka's wrist before beginning to spin. Fū wasn't having any of it as she gave her next and ultimately decisive order.
"Heat Wave!"
A blast of searing, hot air was blasted from Naka's mouth. The wave washed over Mienfoo who was forced to disengage. This freed up Naka's hands who attacked with a dual Fire Punch without waiting for an order from Fū.
Mienfoo was still reeling from the Heat Wave and so a vicious one-two punch from Naka was enough to put her down.
The crowd was lapping up every moment of the fight and contrary to Naruto's earlier words, Hinata didn't seem to be affected by the crowd as much as he had expected.
"Fū's on a roll," said Kiba causing Naruto to nod.
"Hinata did pretty well, but Fū's still got Chōmei," said Naruto, "This battle is as good as done."
To her credit, Hinata seemed to recognise this as she recalled Mienfoo. She held up her last pokeball before she threw it in the air. The ball popped open before releasing a Poliwhirl.
"Or maybe not," said Yugito as she regarded the Poliwhirl with interest.
Understandably, Fū recalled Naka almost immediately before letting out Chōmei. They had a long day ahead of them with both a day and night session tomorrow should they win so keeping her pokemon fresh was still a priority.
"Baku, use Bubblebeam!"
A condensed stream of bubbles shot at Chōmei at a shocking speed. Fū didn't seem particularly bothered as she pointed at the stream of bubbles.
"Use it! Finish this with one shot!"
The attack smashed into Chōmei with amazing power. The powerful pokemon was pushed back by the stream, but once it died down the dual-type pokemon was enveloped in a red aura.
"Revenge," said Kiba before nudging Naruto, "Look familiar, hey?"
It did, in fact, look familiar. Naruto would never forget that fight with Mizuki. Chōmei was able to rapidly close down on Baku before unleashing a powerful punch. The punch was so strong, Baku was hunched over Chōmei's fist before it was sent flying into the arena wall where it was knocked out on impact.
"The winner of this match by three points to one, Fū from Taki!"
Fū and Hinata recalled their pokemon before walking to shaking hands. Both trainers walked off side-by-side as they applauded the crowd who only seemed to grow happier at the display of camaraderie.
"Wish me luck," said Yugito as she made way for the door. Her opponent, Ibara, had already left and by the time the both of them were at the bottom, Fū was walking back in.
As of now, the only ones still in the competitor's booth were Naruto, Shino, Fū, Shikamaru, Sasuke and Ino. At least those were the ones Naruto knew, if only in passing. There were four others, but Naruto couldn't figure out for the life of him who was who.
He had a strong feeling the boy in a shaggy jacket was Dosu, but as for the others he wasn't nearly confident enough to try and guess their names. Everyone was either on their own like Sasuke and Shino or in small groups like Naruto, Kiba and Fū.
Ino was keeping her distance from them today, but it was understandable seeing as she was going to go up against Kiba. She was probably also quite upset at Kiba knocking out Sakura.
Naruto turned back to the battle and he was surprised to see that the battle had just finished. Mata-chan had connected with an Iron Tail that had knocked out the Geodude it was facing.
It was not the electric type of Geodude and so the move was super effective. The crowd cheered at the short battle and Naruto watched as Mata-chan managed to win her next fight this time against a Furret.
Fū seemed quite interested in the battle and she was silent as she analysed Yugito's fight. It was clear that Yugito and Mata-chan have a deep level of understanding and it translated into their battles.
The Eevee wasn't the strongest of pokemon, but the trust she had in her trainer allowed her to overcome her opponents with relative ease. That train of thought halted as the frustrated Ibara sent out her final pokemon – a seemed to hesitate before she recalled a rather tired Mata-chan.
"Come on out, Jibashi!"
Ibara seemed to sag as Jibashi was released, but what was more the Electric-type pokemon seemed to have changed from yesterday.
"Luxio, the Spark pokemon," said Naruto's dex as he scanned Jibashi, "Its claws can emit electricity with enough amperage to cause fainting. They live in small groups."
"Her Shinx evolved?" said Kiba, "Looks like me and Fū have some catching up to do. First Diva and now Jibashi. At this rate, you'll have a Sceptile before I have a Lycanroc."
"Charge!" shouted Yugito and electricity crackled up and down Jibashi's body as he began to prepare his next attack. Ibara seemed to panic and yelled out an order to her Prinplup.
"Bubblebeam!"
It was to no avail, however, as Jibashi deftly avoid the stream of bubbles. He was clearly still powered up from Charge and this proved decisive as Yugito gave her next order.
"Thunder Fang! Full power!"
Jibashi was on the hunt immediately and Prinplup was far too slow to avoid the feline pokemon. Instead, it stood its ground and tried to lash out with a Metal Claw, but the attack was slapped aside by Jibashi whose fangs bit into Prinplup.
The Water-type let out cries of pain before it slumped to the ground completely unconscious. Prinplup would periodically twitch and shift, but it was clear that the battle was well and truly over.
"Winner of Match 20, by a score of three points to nil Yugito Nii from Kumo!"
The crowd cheered for the dominant display bu Yugito, but she didn't seem to care instead her gaze was locked onto Fū. The two girls seemed to stare at each other for a lifetime before Yugito gave an almost mocking bow.
Fū let out a huff and Naruto refrained from speaking as he saw the rather perturbed expression on the girl's face. It was clear that neither of them would be holding back in their fights.
"The next fight will be between Shikamaru Nara from Konoha and Hitomi from Kamiari City!"
That seemed to do the trick as Fū turned her attention away from the battlefield and instead focused on the sight of Ino practically shoving Shikamaru out the door.
"Come on you lazy ass!" shouted Ino as she pushed the reluctant boy along, "You need to represent Konoha well. What will your mom say if she saw you being this lazy?"
Shikamaru seemed to jolt at Ino's words. He gave her a dry stare before turning away and running down to the field. It was the most energy Naruto had seen the boy expend.
He must have really been scared of his mom.
"Use Leaf Blade, Bishop."
Shikamaru's voice sounded as unenthusiastic as one could get as it played over the speakers, but that lackadaisical attitude did not seem to translate into his effectiveness as a trainer.
Bishop, a Male Nuzleaf, nodded affirmatively before its hand was enveloped in a green blade of energy. His opponent was a worm down Shellos who was unable to avoid the attack and one wicked slash later Shellos was unconscious.
"Winner of Match 21, by a score of three to nil...after thirty minutes...Shikamaru Nara from Konoha."
Shikamaru had employed a variety of bizarre strategies. From constantly switching between his three pokemon to staying on the defence for as long as he needed. It had gotten under Hitomi's skin who had abandoned all forms of tactics and had lost in short order once Shikamaru had gotten serious.
"That was a stinker," said Kiba as the audience applauded Shikamaru, "I almost fell asleep, but don't worry guys. I'll spice things up again!"
"Don't be so confident, Kiba!" said Ino as she pointed at the boy, "I'm way better than Sakura. There's no way I'd lose to a chump like you!"
"Save the rest for the battlefield, guys," said Naruto as he stepped in between the two, "The cameras already caught all of your fight."
"Cameras?" said Kiba and Ino before they both blushed as they saw their faces plastered on every screen in the stadium.
The two trainers could not have moved faster and were out and ready to battle in no time at all. The crowd had a laugh at their expense which only exacerbated their embarrassment.
The crowd finally winded down and Kiba was chosen to kick things off. Without flinching, Kiba sent out Akamaru who seemed ready to kick things off.
Ino sent out a Gloom, obviously going for the type advantage, but Kiba and Akamaru were not worried in the slightest. The battle kicked off and Kiba gave Akamaru a familiar order.
"Sand Trap!"
The dust bowl swept over the entire arena and no one could see either of the pokemon. This was the same tactic that Kiba had used on Yari and it was clear he wanted to end this one quickly.
"Don't panic, Sora! Use Razor Leaf to fish that mutt out!" shouted Ino and Sora seemed to obey it's trainers order as leaves began to fly out the dust cloud.
Kiba didn't seem worried at all, however, and once Sora's attack died down he simply snapped his fingers. This seemed to confuse Ino before a cry was emanated from within the dust cloud.
The cloud was receding and when it did so Sora was held tightly in Akamaru's jaws. There were burn marks on the Grass-type which led Naruto to believe it had been on the end of a potent Fire Fang.
Sora had immediately been knocked out and Ino recalled her pokemon swiftly before letting out her next pokemon. It was a cat with purple fur that almost immediately hissed at Akamaru.
"Purrloin, Night Slash!" shouted Ino with her fists balled at her side acting as a visible sign of her anger.
Purrloin were said to be of similar strength to Rockruff. They both only evolved once and as such one could usually expect them to be evenly matched. That was not the case, however, as Akamaru stayed well out of reach of Purrloin's attacks.
Ino was a decently good trainer. She had made it to the final 32, but she was definitely not the best trainer in the tournament or even on the field. This was proven when Akamaru was able to pounce on a weakening Purrloin.
"How is her Purrloin tired already?" said Naruto and he received an answer from someone unexpected –Shikamaru.
"Ino isn't the best of trainers," said Shikamaru, "She looks after her pokemon well enough, but she did not really train so hard for this. She is easily distracted by stuff and as it turns out that tends to bite you in the ass."
"Didn't you fall asleep through most of the matches yesterday and today?" said Yugito her scepticism clear as day, "Wouldn't you be in the same boat?"
"Not really," said Shikamaru as he suppressed a yawn, "My mom forces me to train and I've got most of you figured out already. I know who I can and cannot beat. This tournament is a drag. I'll probably just quit when I face Kiba tomorrow. "
"Purrloin is unable to battle! Ino's on her last pokemon already! Will we see another clean sweep?" said Anko much to Naruto's surprise as Shikamaru's was proven right.
He turned back and he was able to catch a replay of Purrloin taking a harsh Thunder Fang to the tail. Akamaru had bitten down firmly and had thrown Purrloin around until the feline had succumbed to the attack.
"Check and mate," said Shikamaru, "I know what Ino's third pokemon is. She's at a major disadvantage against that Rockruff. She's going to forfeit. "
Naruto was about to protest, if only to defend one of his new Konohan friends, but his words died on the lip as Ino's voice came over the speakers.
"I forfeit! I can't win this fight," said Ino and her face was furious and resigned all at once.
"Winner of Match 22 by forfeit, Kiba Inuzuka from Saisho Town!" said Anko as Kiba's face came onto the screens, "Will the next contestants please come down."
Everyone in the booth, even Sasuke, turned to Shikamaru in surprise. The boy seemed to realise the quietness and he raised a brow when he saw the varying levels of incredulity on everyone's face.
"What?"
No one said anything, though, and they turned away leaving the boy to his own devices. It had already been clear that Shikamaru was very smart from his battle alone, but that was ridiculous.
Naruto would have never guessed that someone would forfeit especially not someone as headstrong as Ino. Perhaps it had to do more with Naruto never being the type to back down. Regardless, it was impressive of Shikamaru to predict Ino's next move.
It showed that Konoha had more threats than just Sasuke. Fū, was someone he had already earmarked for and so was Yugito. Kiba, of course was a threat too, but that list now extended to Shikamaru as well.
Suddenly, the door slammed opened to reveal Kiba with Akamaru walking beside him. The next two competitors, Kata and Fukira, had already made their way down to the bottom and their battle began without much fanfare.
"Another one bites the dust," said Kiba, "I'm knocking these Academy elites of one by one. Oi, Uchiha!"
This was the first time someone had addressed Sasuke directly and Naruto sighed as Kiba walked right up to the other boy. Sasuke seemed unfazed by Kiba's bravado and didn't flinch even as Kiba poked him in the chest.
"After I deal with lazy bones back there," said Kiba which drew a sigh from Shikamaru, "I'm coming for you next. Your fancy Academy won't help you against me and my team."
Sasuke was a prick. That was something Naruto knew from their conversation. However, he had stayed away since and as far as Naruto knew he had said nothing to Kiba or anyone else for that matter
Kiba didn't seem to be so fond of the Uchiha. Naruto genuinely expected an argument to break out right there and then. Sasuke's gaze seemed to harden before he simply snorted and turned away from Kiba.
Kiba's hands balled up at Sasuke's dismissal and Akamaru began to growl at the boy who had disrespected his partner. Before things could escalate further, though, Shino stepped in between the two boys.
"I'd suggest you save your energy for your next fight, Kiba. It would be unwise if the son of Tsume Inuzuka was seem arguing with the little brother of the Champion. "
While Shino's argument seemed to cool Kiba down, Naruto couldn't help but notice the way Sasuke twitched when he was called the 'little brother of the Champion'. Naruto was sure he was the only that had noticed and he filed that away as he turned back to the battlefield.
Kiba walked away from the two boys before rejoining Naruto and Fū at the railing. The silence in the room was rather uncomfortable and the battle down below was a welcome distraction.
In the end, Kata won 3-2 and before the result was called Sasuke jumped down from the railing and walked out the room. Dosu followed not long after and Kiba finally said what was on his mind.
"What a prick! I bet he thinks he's so cool!"
"Don't let him get into your head," said Naruto as he turned to Kiba, "It's what he wants. Just focus on how to beat him."
"I know," said Kiba running a hand through his hair, "He's just so...quiet. And not like that Dosu guy. You can tell Sasuke is stuck up. I bet it's because he's from a big city. There were never any pricks like that in Saisho."
"How rude," said Yugito as she looked at Kiba, "Do all three of you think the same about us big city people? That's not very nice..."
Naruto noticed Fū's grip on the railings tighten and he knew he had to diffuse the situation before another argument broke out. Before he could though, Sasuke and Dosu's battle began as Inari squared off against a Loudred.
"Melody, use Supersonic!" shouted Dosu as he pointed at the Fletchinder. It was a decent enough of an opening move in Sasuke's opinion. Supersonic was a debilitating move if it hit.
It was too bad for Dosu that Inari would never allow that to happen.
"Inari, Flame Charge," said Sasuke in response which drew a squawk from the Flying-type.
Inari was wreathed in fire as he evaded the sonic waves of Supersonic before speeding towards Melody. Dosu didn't seem particularly fazed by this and gave his next order swiftly.
"Shock Wave!"
"Protect."
A green barrier formed around Inari and the Shock Wave was blocked effortlessly. Flame Charge was still active and Inari who continued his charge. Melody was sent flying away as burns and small flames littered it's body.
Sasuke had been given the Technical Machine for Protect by his brother. It was one of those moves that almost every pokemon could pick up and Sasuke was glad for it. It certainly helped in sticky situations where evading was impossible.
Sasuke turned his eyes to Melody and the Loudred was clearly knocked out. Dosu recalled Melody as a point was added to Sasuke's score. Dosu seemed a bit put off by his loss and released his next pokemon, orders already spewing from his mouth.
"Magnemite, use Lock-On!"
The Steel-type let out a metallic noise before a red beam shot from it's eye. The beam landed on Inari who was flying in the air waiting for orders.
"Thunder Wave!"
"Protect!"
Sure enough, a green spherical barrier enveloped Inari. It was as if Dosu hadn't just learnt his lesson from their previous fight. The electric-type move faded away and once it did Sasuke shouted his next order.
"Flamethrower!"
A stream of fire was launched at Magnemite who couldn't avoid in time and was swept up in the flames. The steel-type was sent hurtling back towards the ground where it landed with in a burst of dust, rocks and fire.
The miniature explosion cleared up and Magnemite was revealed to be unconscious. The crowd was lapping up the one-sided battle and cheers and claps echoed out through the stadium.
This didn't seem to faze either of the trainers as Dosu sent out his final pokemon, a Zangoose. Sasuke raised a brow in interest at the pokemon. It was a rather strong breed and could pose a problem.
Sasuke contemplated switching out Inari, but his pokemon seemed to read his mind as he let out a chirp while staring down the Zangoose. Fine, then. They would just have to finish this one quickly.
"Aerial Ace!"
Inari was perfect to lead for Sasuke. His speed was amazing and he could hit pretty hard. It helped that he seemed to enjoy fighting to the same degree as all his other pokemon.
However, the best thing about Inari was the speed with which he could prepare his techniques – particularly the flying-type moves. The ways in which pokemon moves were cast involved a lot of energy conversion and manipulation that Sasuke did not quite understand.
What he did understand, however, was that the Talonflame line had a talent for Flying-type moves. That coupled with their speed made Sasuke set out for a Fletchling once he had graduated.
Inari did not have much in the way of stamina and due to his dual typing was still susceptible to rock-types, but so long as Inari did not miss, Inari did not lose.
"Detect!"
Inari missed.
Aerial Ace, an attack which homed in on the target, missed. Zangoose's eyes flashed before it
moved out of the way of Aerial Ace and Sasuke grit his teeth.
This could be a problem.
Detect was a rather complex move. In general, moves were on a spectrum ranging from energy-based to physically-based. For example, moves like Solarbeam on one end and others like Rapid Spin on the other end.
A move like Iron Tail was somewhere in between. In most cases, Steel-type energy was molded on the tail of the user and this combined with the strength of the strike to make the attack.
All pokemon had energy of different types running through their veins. These types all interacted with each other in obvious and not so obvious ways.
Fire melted Ice. Water put out Fire. Grass broke Rock.
This was why moves like Flash Cannon could fell even the toughest of Rock-types despite not actually having a physical side. The very biology of pokemon was dictated by how these energies interacted with each other.
Getting back to the issue at hand, Inari was very proficient at molding Flying-type energy. However, he did not have too much of said energy to use. It was why Sasuke aimed for brutal fights.
The faster he ended them, the more energy Inari would have at his disposal.
Detect worked by stimulating the body and brain into hyperdrive. This allowed the user to avoid even the fastest of attacks. It was a rather draining move, but it could still be trained to be used in rapid succession.
"Skyfire! Keep it up!"
Skyfire was a mix of Aerial Ace and Flame Charge. It would boost Inari's speed the longer it was active. Furthermore, it would always be on target without the need for Inari to aim.
That was without the explosion that would surely finish the stupid Loudred off.
"Detect! Don't let that bird touch you!"
Zangoose was able to keep ahead of Inari's continuous attacks as it weaved between the living comet. Inari kept getting closer and closer to hitting his mark, however, just when it seemed like Inari was about to make his mark Skyfire faded away.
"Looks like your bird is all out of juice," taunted Dosu and Sasuke grit his teeth as he saw Inari was barely able to keep hovering in one spot. Inari had retreated from the other pokemon and was now in front of Sasuke.
"Quick Slash! Finish that bastard off!"
Zangoose's claws began to glow white before it sped off towards Inari. The combination of Slash and Quick Attack meant Dosu wanted to end this with one blow.
"Protect!"
Inari was still exhausted, but he was able to raise the barrier just as Zangoose was upon him. This was fine until Zangoose simply slid underneath the barrier leaving Inari behind.
It was with some confusion and fear that Sasuke realised Inari was not the target of Zangoose's attack.
He was.
The pokemon was still in Quick Attack and so Inari was left in the dust even as he tried to intercept the threat to it's trainer. Zangoose was upon him and Sasuke froze in fear as the pokemon reared it's wickedly sharp claws back.
His eyes closed in fear and raised his arms in a futile form of defence. Sasuke heard the audience let out cries and shrieks as Zangoose continued with it's attack.
"Why did it avoid Inari entirely?" asked Kiba as he watched the pokemon slide under Inari. It was only once they traced Zangoose's trajectory that they realised where it was heading.
"It's headed for Sasuke," said Naruto and he felt powerless as he watched the other trainer freeze up in fear. Inari was chasing after Zangoose, but it was far too worn out to close the gap on time.
Naruto let out a scream as Zangoose reared it's arm back and ,as Sasuke raised his arms to protect himself, Naruto felt something build inside of him. The screams of the audience were boring into his skull and moments before Sasuke was cut into he felt something practically burst from inside him.
Naruto felt his body act on it's own accord as his hand was pointed towards Zangoose. A second later, he felt his arm jerk back heavily. Zangoose was still closing in on Sasuke, but suddenly it was sent flying in another direction as something collided into it.
The crowd was stunned into silence at the sight and Naruto lowered his hand as he felt it begin to vibrate and pulse rapidly. A faint, blue light was emanated from his hands before it vanished just as quickly.
No one in the booth had seemed to notice as their eyes were still trained onto the field and the stadium hung in silence before suddenly a familiar Gallade and his trainer appeared in the centre of the field.
"Recall your Zangoose, now!" shouted Yugao to Dosu who seemed oddly composed. He did as ordered and did not even protest as Yugao marched him off the field.
A few medics had gone onto the field to assess a visibly shaken Sasuke as well Inari who was standing near the boy watching the medics with a harsh gaze.
Naruto's hand was still pulsing with energy and he tried to hide it as conversation began to pick up in the booth. He failed spectacularly, however as Yugao stared at his twitching hand.
"That must have really rattled you, huh?" said Yugito sounding shocked by the turn of events, "That was close! That Zangoose almost took Sasuke's head off."
She was met with silence, however, as everyone was still focused on how Sasuke had been attacked. Finally, it was Kiba who responded as he stared at Dosu who was now being walked out the arena by Yugao.
"Do you guys think–" began the boy before shaking his head. Shikamaru caught onto his hesitation and said with more gravity than Naruto have ever heard him speak with.
"That was definitely on purpose," said Shikamaru, "Dosu didn't even seem to care that his pokemon had almost killed Sasuke. I know it's not a lot to go off of, but it doesn't look good. The only other possibility is that Zangoose was at such a high-level that it disregarded it's trainer's orders entirely."
Naruto glanced towards Fū and he was surprised to see her gaze already on him. No doubt the whole debacle reminded her of their ordeal in Halo Forest and just like then Naruto had a feeling, no, he was certain that he was the reason Sasuke was still in one piece.
What the hell was going on?
Fū's eyes had a question in them and Naruto could only shake his head. He had no idea what he had just done, but he knew that it had been done by him. He wasn't sure if it was the best of ideas to explain this to Fū or at least not at this moment.
"Winner of Match 24 by disqualification, Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha," Anko's voice came over the speakers she paused for applause, but there was none at all, "That was a bit of a shi–uh...mess, but we move on. Tomorrow 's battles start earlier in the day and we'll have a night session for the evening battles. "
====Start Session====
[Day Session]
Quarterfinal 1: Naruto Uzumaki vs Shino Aburame
Quarterfinal 2: Fū vs Yugito Nii
Quarterfinal 3: Shikamaru Nara vs Kiba Inuzuka
Quarterfinal 4: Kata vs Sasuke Uchiha
[Night Session]
Semi-final 1: Winner of QF 3 vs Winner of QF 4
Semi-final 2: Winner of QF 1 vs Winner of QF 2
====End session====
"Things are heating up," said Kiba as they prepared to leave, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a few things to work on."
Unlike the days previous, the competitors did not hang out with each other after their fights. The sombre mood after Sasuke's near miss made things a lot less cheery than before. The contestants all scattered, even Kiba went off somewhere, and so Fū and Naruto decided to head back to the hotel.
Their walk back was quiet, but it was a comfortable silence. They were both lost in their own thoughts as the residents of Konoha went about their afternoon. The events of the day weighed heavily on their minds.
The fights hadn't taken too long and the evening was quite a long away from now. Naruto was beginning to feel a bit peckish so once he and Fū got into the restaurant he turned to her.
"Wanna get something to eat?" said Naruto which drew a nod from Fū, "Let's order some room service. We can eat in my room. Do you need to go the pokecenter?"
Fū shook her head, "My team will be fine. Naka and Chōmei didn't really get hit that badly. I'll see you in a little bit. I just want to check something in my room."
The two split off and Naruto practically dove on his bed. He was feeling somewhat tired from the day's activities–particularly what happened at the end of the day. Naruto wanted to see if he could replicate what had happened back there.
"Okay," said Naruto as he propped up a pillow on the couch, "I sent that stupid Zangoose flying by pushing out or something...How the hell am I going to do that again?"
That's if it was even him in the first place.
Naruto focused on the pillow and instead of trying to push it away he simply focused on trying to lift it up. He held his hand out towards the pillow and tried to focus on it.
Nothing.
It was after about a minute of holding his hand up and straining like he had drank three gallons of spoiled milk that he finally gave up.
Maybe he was going about this the wrong way.
Watching Sasuke almost get killed reminded him of the time with the Scyther in the forest. The fear and shock and frustration and anger had just merged into this heavy ball of–
Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw the couch he standing in front of lift up into the air and shoot towards him. He closed his eyes and held out his hands waiting for the pain.
It never came.
Naruto opened his eyes and he was amazed as he took in the sight of the couch floating in the air. A soft, blue glow surrounded it and Naruto realised belatedly that the same blue glow was coming off of his hands.
Slowly, Naruto twisted his hands and the couch began to spin as if it were on an axis. Naruto moved the couch through the air with sweeping motions of his hand before he finally put it down.
"This is fucking crazy."
And cool. And awesome. And scary. And awesome.
Naruto's stomach grumbled to remind of his plan to get some food with Fū. Luckily, she hadn't walked in while he was busy moving the couch around or things would have been very hard to explain.
Naruto looked at the phone and he was about to walk over and get it when a idea popped into his head.
"Why not?" said Naruto as he lined his arm up the phone. It took him a fee seconds of focus, but he was able to lift the phone with his newly found energy. He twitched his finger and the phone flew into his hand and he caught it deftly.
So he hadn't lost his powers. That was good. First, he'd eat with Fū then he would plan for his fights tomorrow.
Maybe he'd mess around with his newly found power later.
"Viewers all around Sanka!" shouted Anko as the stadium filled to capacity, "The quarterfinals of the Konoha Rookie Tournament is about to commence. The winners will face off in a semifinal later on today. Conservation of energy is a key part of being a pokemon trainer. A good trainer–"
As Anko carried on with her opening speech, Naruto felt excitement well up in him as he stood opposite Shino. The other boy was a cut above the rest, but Naruto had full faith in his team to win here and then again later on today when he would face either Fū or Yugito.
"Enough talk," said Anko and a coin appeared on the screen, "Heads will be for Shino and tail for Naruto. Let's see who is getting us under way!"
Naruto watched as the coin flipped over and over before finally landing on heads. That was good. Shino would have to show his hand first that would go a long way to ending this match faster.
Naruto knew that Shino seemed to have a tendency to use grass-types and bug-types. This was proven correct as Shino released his Bulbasaur from yesterday.
Bulbasaur seemed to have recovered from it's fight with Sizzlipede and was raring to go. Naruto reach for his pokeball and soon Diva let out a cry as she was released from her pokeball.
It made sense to rely on Diva for this fight and while Naruto would have loved to use Shinobi, he did not want to show his hand just yet.
"Quarterfinal 1 between Naruto Uzumaki from Saisho and Shino Aburame from Konoha, begin!"
"Quick Wing!"
Diva shot off towards Bulbasaur with her wings spread wide and glowing brightly. Her combination attack slammed into Bulbasaur who was sent tumbling over the ground.
Bulbasaur seemed to be reeling from the quickfire start by Diva. It shook off the impact before waiting for it's trainer's orders.
"Powder Storm."
Bulbasaur obeyed and began to leak out powder of two different colours at a rapid rate. Naruto identified the purple powder as Poison Powder and the green powder as Sleep Power. The two powders mixed and spread out, but they were most centralised around the ground far from Diva.
That did not last.
Naruto was wary of sending Diva in and so Bulbasaur was free to follow up with the next stage of it's move as it grew two long whips that began to whip around in the air.
The powder was spread all around the field and Diva was even forced to fly higher to avoid the spreading cloud. Finally, Bulbasaur stopped and the cloud stop spreading.
Diva could maybe use Sand Attack to try and blow away the cloud, but she was already too far away from the ground for her to kick up any attack. There was really only one thing to do.
"Diva, return," said Naruto and Diva looked annoyed as she recalled. A timer was started counting down from fifteen. If he didn't switch before it was up then Diva would be eliminated.
Okay, they had to get rid of this cloud. Apollo was obviously a no-go, for now at least, so that meant Shinobi had to do it.
It only took Naruto a few seconds to come with a semi-decent plan to keep Shinobi safe. He enlarged Shinobi's pokeball and threw it high up into the sky just before the timer reached zero.
Shinobi emerged high up into the sky and as he began to fall to the ground Naruto shouted his next order.
"Use Bubble to stay out of that cloud! Make them really big!"
Thankfully, Shinobi didn't seem fazed to be falling through the sky and in short order he made a large bubble that he quickly clung to the surface of. The bubble was rather massive and Shinobi was able to keep his footing as it rose higher in the sky.
Shinobi stayed proactive and began to make multiple of these larger bubbles. They soon filled the sky and Naruto was able to watch as a stoic Shino took in the sight of the bubbles.
Shino wasn't inactive for long and he pointed at the bubble Shinobi was currently on. Naruto knew that Shino wanted to ground Shinobi and in the end they both gave their pokemon new orders at the same time.
"Razor Leaf."
"Double Team!"
Copies of Shinobi formed on top of all of the bubbles and they all scrambled as Bulbasaur tried to hit them with Razor Leaf. The attack lost a lot of it's steam due to how high they were and having to go through the poison cloud that was rising higher and higher.
Shinobi was forced to jump higher and higher in order to avoid both the cloud and Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf. The copies were slowly being taken out and Naruto knew they were running out of options.
"Use Bubble to protect yourself!"
In a risky move, Shinobi dispelled all his clones before enveloping himself in a moderately sized bubble before placing his hands on the surface of the bubble. Due to the difference in size, the bubble stretched at the bottom before it began to sink towards the ground.
It fell into the poison cloud and Naruto sighed in relief as it remained intact. It burst out from the bottom of the cloud and Naruto smiled as Shinobi burst the bubble. This allowed him to fall faster and avoid Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf by a wide margin.
"Water Bomb!"
Shinobi landed on the ground before forming a Water Pulse. However, he was not done as he pressed his mouth to the surface of the sphere. Ripples began to form on the surface of the Water Pulse and it soon shifted from a deep blue to an extremely bright blue.
"Protect!"
The setup only took a few seconds and the attack was ready. The attack was thrown at Bulbasaur who looked worn out from the countless Razor Leaves it had shot.
The Water Bomb smashed into Bulbasaur who failed to conjure up Protect on time and the sound of a thunder clap filled the arena as it was sent flying through the air.
The audience let out a groan as Bulbasaur smashed into the wall and fell to the ground. It tried to rise, but it staggered around before collapsing in a heap. Shino recalled Bulbasaur and Naruto let out a sigh of relief.
To make things better, the cloud had diffused almost entirely by now and it would be safe to proceed with the fight. Shino seemed to weigh things up before ultimately he raised his hand.
"I forfeit," said Shino drawing a few jeers from the audience, "My team is not diverse enough to be of a threat to Naruto."
That was an acceptable response and Naruto nodded at Shino who returned before he picked up Bulbasaur and walked out the arena. Naruto assumed he was on his way to a pokecenter.
The audience got over their disappointment and they applauded Naruto and he bowed politely before turning to Shinobi. His pokemon tried his best to act calm, but that faded as Naruto spoke to him.
"Great job on getting Water Bomb right, Shinobi!" said Naruto, "You really got using Round down properly. We'll work on even more moves and getting you stronger, alright?"
Shinobi nodded and Naruto smiled as he caught the glint of excitement in Shinobi's eye as they made their way out the arena. He had only learned Round about halfway through their month of training and using it to amplify the sound waves and ,by proxy, the power of Water Pulse had worked out superbly.
"Winner of Quarterfinal 1 by forfeit, Naruto Uzumaki of Saisho Town!"
Naruto reached the booth and he was surprised to see both Yugito and Fū were already gone. The only ones in the booth were Kiba, Shikamaru, Kata and Sasuke who Naruto had not seen before his fight had begun.
Apparently, the prick had some ice in his veins, after all. The boy did not seem terribly bothered by how close he had come to dying or at best seriously injured. Instead he stared down into a notebook that he was making notes in.
"What happened to Fū and Yugito? Did they already go down?" asked Naruto as he sidled up next to Kiba.
"Yeah. They were teleported down there by Yugao" said Kiba as he looked towards Sasuke for a second, "She dropped that guy here. Apparently, he had to have a checkup to see that he wasn't frazzled by yesterday."
Kiba was being a lot less confrontational than yesterday and it was easy to see why. Kiba was abrasive, but even he would never try and pick a fight with someone that had almost died.
Naruto wasn't sure how long that would last.
"Quaterfinal 2 between Fū from Taki and Yugito Nii from Kumo is about to begin," said Anko and after a virtual coin toss Fū was chosen to kick things off.
"Mai, let's do this," said Fū as she let out her Buneary. Mai, whose name Naruto had forgotten earlier, looked ready to kick things off.
"Senbi, let's go!" shouted Yugao before she let out a pokemon with green legs and hair while having a white torso.
"Kirlia, the Emotion pokemon," said Naruto's dex as he scanned the pokemon, "One of the few genderless pokemon, Kirlia posses an inaccessible reserve of strong and volatile energy. This energy is only released upon evolution allowing it to evolve into either a Gallade or a Gardevoir depending on the method of evolution. "
"Fū got kinda lucky with this," said Kiba as he waited for the battle to begin, "Kirlia aren't the strongest of pokemon."
"Yugito wouldn't use Kirlia if she wasn't sure it could fight," said Naruto as Anko gave the signal to fight.
"Dizzy Punch!"
Mai's ears began to glow as she closed down on Senbi. The normal-type was soon upon Senbi who did not flinch back from the attack.
"Hypnosis!"shouted Yugito and red waves of energy began to exude from Senbi's eyes. Mai was wary of the danger and she leapt right over Senbi before whirling around and slapping out with Dizzy Punch.
Senbi was sent sailing away and Mai stayed on the offensive. Fū was pleased by the zeal being shown by Mai. Mai was still fresh and she planned to finish this bout off right now.
"Thunder Punch!"
Mai's ears were saturated with electricity as she leapt forward to a still reeling Senbi. Fū was smiling as Mai closed in on a stationary Senbi until Yugito gave her next order at the last moment.
"Destiny Bond!"
"Wait, Mai, stop!"
It was too late.
Mai's Thunder Punch slammed into Kirlia and there was a flash of purple light before Senbi collapsed to the ground. Mai froze abruptly before she let out a scream.
Purple energy escaped from Buneary's mouth before she fell forward clearly unconscious. The crowd cheered at the turn of events and both trainers recalled their pokemon, Yugito in a clearly better mood than Fū.
"Thanks, Senbi," said Yugito with a small smile on her face. She spared a look towards Fū who lips were pursed tightly together. Fū stared at Yugito her eyes awash with anger at being tricked before finally recalling Mai.
Yugito didn't seem bothered and she sent out Matatabi. Fū sent out Naka in response and the battle was on.
"Swift!"
"Defend with Fury Swipes!"
The stars formed by Swift were cut apart by Naka's attack and gold dust flittered through the air as the fire-type kept up it's defense. Finally, the onslaught finished and Fū ordered her next attack immediately.
"Flame Wheel!"
"Double-Edge! Boost it with Quick Attack!"
Matatabi crouched low and yellow energy formed around her body before she shot off at Naka. It was not a perfected combination, but for something that had just been made on the fly it was perfect.
Yugito smiled as she saw Fū not tell Naka to dodge and their two pokemon collided in the centre of the field. Impressively, Naka was able to push forward against Matatabi.
A trench began to form from where Matatabi was being dragged backwards. Naka forced Matatabi a couple of metres, but soon Naka lost momentum and Matatabi blew straight through Naka.
"Naka!"
Naka was sent hurtling through the air before she landed harshly on the ground. The crowd let out a groan as the fire-type let out a cry upon landing. The impact was brutal.
Anko was about to call the fight when Naka slowly began to rise to her feet. Fū could not believe her eyes when Naka finally stood up. The Chimchar gave a screech of defiance before turning towards her trainer.
"Alright, Naka," said Fū, "Let's finish this off!"
Naka only screeched even louder at that and Yugito was about to order an attack when Naka's body began to glow white. Naka's body grew taller and stocker as she underwent evolution and once the light died down gone was Naka's previous.
She had evolved into a Monferno.
Naka crouched down and reared her fist back before she shot at Matatabi. Yugito gasped at the newfound speed of Naka who was now closing in on Matatabi with a Mach Punch.
"Get out of there, Mata-chan!"
Matatabi was too worn down from her use of Double-Edge and so she took a Mach Punch right to the face. A clap of thunder pierced the stadium before Mata-chan was sent rolling across the floor. She came to a stop somewhat near to Yugito.
"Naka evolved," said Kiba as he watched the aforementioned pokemon stretch out her new limbs, "Are you guys using like some sort of steroid or something? I still don't have any evolved pokemon. Fū's totally going to win."
"I wouldn't be so sure," said a voice and Naruto was surprised to hear Sasuke speak up, "That Monferno is on it's last legs. One decent hit is all that's needed to put it down."
Naruto conceded to himself that Sasuke was right. Naka was strong, but she had her limits. The adrenaline from the evolution had worn off and Naka had been crushed by Mata-chan's mixture of Double Edge and Quick Attack. It did not bode well for her and Fū.
It was very reckless of Yugito to do that. The recoil had hit Mata-chan hard and even if she moved on the next round then she would definitely still be nursing some wounds. It still paid off, though, Naka was a powerhouse and would be in just as bad shape if Fū won.
"Besides," said Sasuke as he looked at Naruto, "Your friend has already lost. She's angry and that Kumo girl knows this. That Destiny Bond at the beginning messed with her head."
Naruto wanted to disagree, but down on the arena he saw something that made him sigh. Jibashi had been sent out and Fū didn't recall Naka as she looked to finish things off quickly.
Naka shot off towards Jibashi with her fists glowing with fighting-type energy, but she was so tired Jibashi was able to stay ahead with ease. Once, Mach Punch was deactivated Yugito finally gave an order.
"Thunder Fang!"
Jibashi pounced on Naka and bit into the fire-type. Naka screamed as electricity coused through her body before her muscles locked up. Jibashi stepped back and there was clearly some blood on his fangs. Fū recalled Naka and Naruto frowned as he saw her free hand ball into a fist.
Fū was pissed.
At Yugito. At Matatabi. At Senbi, but most of at herself.
She had been fighting with more brawn than brains and now her back was against the wall. That Destiny Bond had caught her off guard and she had seen red afterwards.
Her last hope was Chomei and she did not even want to think about the Semi-final in the evening. Naruto's team was fresh and the cornerstone of hers was severely injured.
A few Hyper Potions would go a long way, but overuse of potions tended to have negative effects some of them long-term. Nurses knew how much was too much, though, so it was not all bad.
"Alright," said Fū as she forced herself to relax, "I can still win this one. Let's finish this one together, Chomei!"
Chomei appeared and he was almost immediately ready to battle as he squared off against Jibashi. The tension was building as neither participant gave an order before finally Yugito broke the deadlock.
"Charge then Shock Wave!"
Chomei could only cross his arms as a massive lance of electricity slammed into him. The electricity coursed through his veins and Fū struggled to find a solution.
Chomei was best up close, but so was Jibashi and Chomei had a terrible selection of ranged attacks. Only Pin Missile and Bullet Seed would do the trick and that was if he was not sniped by Jibashi again.
Jibashi kept the Shock Wave going for a supremely long time and once he dispelled it, Chomei was covered in electric burns. Staying at range would make things worse especially since Chomei had no way of avoiding Shock Wave.
"Brick Break!"
Chomei shot off towards Jibashi and despite the damage the Heracross had taken he was still moving fairly quickly. Jibashi had stood his ground and lashed out with an Iron Tail.
Chomei was forced to block the Iron Tail with his Brick Break Yugito saw this and gave an order which caused Fū to almost cry out in despair.
"You've got him, Shock Wave!"
This time instead of shooting a bolt of electricity, however, the Shock Wave was channelled through his tail and Chomei let out a scream as he sunk to his knees.
"Revenge!"
Yugito saw the red aura of Revenge begin to form on Chomei's body and in something of a panic she gave the order that would almost definitely end the fight.
"Fire Fang!"
Jibashi pounced on Chomei while he was still charging up Revenge. and bit into his opponent. Chomei screamed and thrashed until finally it was too much and he fainted from the strength of the attack.
"Wow! What a match! Winner by three points to two, Yugito Nii from Kumo!"
"Fū actually lost," said Kiba as he watched the girl recall her pokemon, "She won't be happy. Yugito better watch out..."
True to Kiba's words Fū looked like a robot as she stiffly walked up to shake a jubilant Yugito's hand. Thankfully, there seemed to be no hard feelings and Fū shook Yugito's hand before she was pulled into a hug from the other girl.
"Or not," said Shikamaru as he rose up, "Okay, let's get this mess over with."
Yugito and Fū had both vacated the field and Kiba Kiba practically ran out the door eager to begin. On the other hand, Shikamaru stood at the railing and Naruto turned to him in confusion.
"You do know it's your turn?"
"I do."
"...But you're still up here?"
"I am."
"Do you want to fight?"
"Can Shikamaru Nara please come down to the field?" said Anko over the speakers. To make matters worse, Shikamaru was shown on all the screens in the stadium as if to shame him into going down.
"You gonna go?"
Shikamaru seemed to weigh up the question before ultimately he shook his head. To settle any doubts Shikamaru spoke while dusting his hands off.
"I quit. This whole thing is a drag."
Shikamaru's words were heard throughout the arena as the microphones that they were all fitted with activated. Kiba seemed to be annoyed as he shouted at the other boy.
"You lazy piece of–"
Kiba's microphone was cut off and a few boos rose from the crowd. Anko spoke up looking to quell the situation and she sounded somewhat irritated and also a little amused by all of this.
"Winner of Quarterfinal 3 by forfeit, Kiba Inuzuka."
Shikamaru took that as his cue to leave and he was joined by both Sasuke and Kata who were both very eager to kick things off. Kiba was soon back in the booth and it was only him and Naruto as Sasuke's fight kicked off.
That changed, though, as Yugito walked in just as Kata sent out a Totodile. The girl joined the other two at the railing and she let out a sigh as she took in the two competitors.
"Do we even need to stay for this?" asked Yugito, "Uchiha is gonna crush him. That Fletchinder of his still hasn't been defeated by anyone."
"Neither have any of ours," Naruto pointed out as he motioned to Kiba, "We need to see how he operates. We've all been keeping our cards close to our chest, but he's been better at it than us. I don't even know what other pokemon he has."
"Raijin, I need your assistance."
To everyone's surprise, Inari was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps, he was feeling the after effects of that gruelling fight with Dosu. In any case, Sasuke had chosen to go with another pokemon.
"Elekid, the Electric pokemon," said Naruto's dex, "It stores electricity in it's body. If all of this electricity is discharged it swings it's arms in circles to recharge itself."
"So he does have other pokemon," said Kiba as he took in the form of the rather stocky Elekid. Raijin looked to be just as strong as Inari and he seemed to want to prove that as his trainer pointed at Totodile.
"Chidori."
Raijin's left hand thrummed with energy as electricity crackled over his fist. The attack looked to be stronger than a normal Thunder Punch and upon stating as much, Yugito confirmed Naruto's thoughts.
"That's Electro Ball mixed with Thunder Punch," said Yugito as Raijin shot off towards Totodile who began to fire a Water Gun, "If he connects then it's lights out."
"You got him, Raijin," said Sasuke his whole body screaming with confidence, "Finish this."
However, Raijin stopped his advance and instead punched out at the Water Gun. Electricity travelled up the stream of water before reaching Totodile. The electric currents wreaked havoc on Totodile and the water-type thrashed for a fee seconds longer before fainting.
"That was clever," admitted Kiba and Naruto nodded silently. Instead of trying to avoid the attack, Sasuke had adjusted at the last moment and delivered a devastating blow right from the get go.
That first battle was a sign of things to come and Naruto felt rather bad for Kata as Raijin blew straight through his Pidove before finally ending the battle with a vicious, dual Brick Break to knock the block off of Kata's Cubchoo.
"Brutal," said Yugito as they watched replays of Raijim connecting with Brick Break, "That's your next opponent, Kiba .Scared?"
"Try excited," said Kiba, "Naruto and I haven't even fought each other yet and there have only been scrubs to make due with. This Sasuke guy is good, but my team is good enough to take his down. That's a fact."
"Is Fū at the pokecenter?" asked Naruto and Yugito nodded her head as a somewhat sad expression broke on her face.
"She said she wants to be alone for the moment, " said Yugito, "I thought she was gonna kill me, buy she was more mad at herself. She said she would try to catch you before our match, though."
Naruto was not happy to hear that Fū was still upset, but in the end there wasn't anything he could. If Fū said she wanted space then he would give it to her.
She had looked so furious and upset after her loss to Yugito that Naruto was surprised she had been able to push down her feelings and shake Yugito's hand. It was just such a departure from the quiet and reserved girl Fū was that Naruto felt compelled to have a chat with her eventually.
"Cheer up, dude," said Kiba as he slapped Naruto on the back, "Fū will be fine. She was fine after you guys got attacked by that Scyther in Halo and she'll be fine now."
"You survived an attack by a Scyther?" Yugito sounded at once amazed and confused, "How didn't you die? Your team was way too green to take one out."
"Come to think of it," said Kiba, "You only had Diva while she was a Starly and Fū had Naka as a Chimchar. Mai was there too, but even then you guys shouldn't have been able to beat it."
Naruto felt like punching something. Bad idea considering the secret he was trying to keep. He ha told Fū about the strength, but he hadn't said squat about anything else. It felt wrong somehow, but he would keep this secret.
Neither Yugito nor Kiba would believe him unless he gave a practical demonstration and that was a mess waiting to happen. With that in mind, Naruto said his next words as calmly as possible.
"We kinda got lucky I guess," Naruto ignored the sceptical looks of the other two before adding, "I'd love to stay and chat, but we're kinda facing each other next so..."
That was enough to end the discussion, at least for now, and soon Naruto was able to walk out from the competitor's booth. He decided to take something of a scenic route and he must have wandered too far away as he heard two voices speaking.
Following his instinct, Naruto stayed hidden behind the wall. Luckily, his approach had not been noticed by either of the two people. Naruto held his breath as he heard the two men discuss something of a decidedly controversial nature.
"I saw Dosu's attempt on the spawn of Fugaku and Mikoto. Has there been any... fallout?" said a voice that was slimy and sent shivers down Naruto's spine.
"He has not returned as of yet," said another voice, a much younger one, "Sasuke-kun was taken to the Uchiha Estate and Fugaku was said to be very displeased with the incident. Poor Dosu is already in Konoha prison and he's been stripped of his rank. I doubt he'll walk free anytime soon. It's a shame he failed his task."
Wait, what? Dosu had been trying to hurt Sasuke on purpose. Why? The Uchiha were not an enemy one would want to have. There was still more to unpack like Dosu being jailed, but all trainers were seen as adults.
Apparently that extended to being tried as adults.
"What a shame," said the older voice, "Dosu had potential. He would have been a perfect candidate for Project Transcendence. Keep an eye on young Sasuke's progress, Kabuto. And on that Uzumaki child. His parents have been rather annoying recently. Our work here is done. Let's leave."
"As you wish, Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto before the sound of a pokemon being released was let out, "Alakazam, take us away."
There was a flash of blue light before Naruto was alone in the hallway. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and after a few seconds he fell right on his ass as he leaned against the wall.
This could be a problem.
Hiruzen Sarutobi
Rank: #7
Grade: S-rank
Points: 71, 500, 000
Orochimaru
WARNING:
-WANTED CRIMINAL
-LEADER OF CRIMINAL GROUP YAMATA
Rank: #3 at time of purging
Grade: S-Rank
Signature pokemon: Serperior
NOTE : If any trainer below S-rank encounters Orochimaru, you are strongly advised to take special care to avoid battle. Orochimaru is wanted for multiple murders, thefts and crimes against humanity.
Bounty: 60, 000, 000 dollars (alive)
Kabuto Yakushi
WARNING:
-Known associate of Orochimaru
-Member of Yamata
Rank: #42 at time of purging
Grade: A-rank
Signature pokemon: Alakazam
NOTE: Kabuto is a strong trainer and former gym leader. A-ranks should approach with caution. Wanted for murders, thefts and crimes against humanity.
Bounty: 12 ,000 ,000 dollars
Author notes:
Finally done. We got to see a couple of more stuff and hey Naruto can do some freaky shit.
We also got our first glimpse at a few battles and Sasuke is looking red hot.
Finally, Naruto overhears a conversation between the OG slimeball and his lackey, Orochimaru and Kabuto.
This took a while to get done. It was a little battle heavy, but it was necessary. I can't skip over too many battles.
I love hearing from you guys so please drop a review and follow the story so you don't miss an update. I'll try to get the next chapter out within the next two weeks or so.
The semis, the losers' final and then the actual final. There'll be a few surprises so keep an eye out